Stock market today: Wall Street ticks up ahead of latest inflation data, start of earnings season

abcnews.go.com:

Wall Street pointed modestly higher ahead of this week’s latest U.S. inflation reports and the unofficial start of earnings season

Wall Street pointed modestly higher early Tuesday ahead of new data on inflation and the kickoff to earnings season.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each ticked up 0.3% before the bell.

KB Homes jumped more than 9% in premarket after the homebuilder beat Wall Street's fourth-quarter sales and profit targets as revenue grew 19% to $2 billion in the period. Even as mortgage rates remain elevated, KB said expects strong demand to push 2025 revenue above $7 billion.

Signet Jewelers tumbled more than 11% early Tuesday after it reported a decline in same store sales during the peak selling days leading up to Christmas. The retailer significantly slashed its guidance for the fourth quarter.

Shares of the mobile stock trading platform Robinhood rose less than 1% after government regulators announced on Monday that the company had agreed to pay a $45 million fine for a handful of violations, including lackadaisical reporting of suspicious activity and weak identity theft protection policies.

On Wednesday, a host of big U.S. banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo — release their latest quarterly financial results.

Stocks have been under pressure the last month, as traders reduce expectations for how much relief the Federal Reserve may deliver this year through lower interest rates.

Rate cuts can give the economy a boost, and the U.S. stock market repeatedly hit record highs last year on the assumption that more are coming after the Fed began lowering rates in September. But inflation has remained stubbornly above the Fed’s 2% target, and recent